Bloggers, do you ever write down a post idea as a draft? Do you ever actually go back and write a post to go with that fabulous idea you had or does it sit in your drafts folder … forever.
Not long ago, I was looking for a little inspiration for a post, and it suddenly occurred to me that I might have some ideas squirreled away as drafts. From time to time I’ll have a great idea for a post, but no time to write it. So, I’ll write down a title and save it as a draft. Sometimes I’ll even write a bit more than a title.
Problem is, I almost never remember to go back and look at those drafts. And by the time I do, the flash of inspiration I had when I wrote that idea down has fizzled away, and I’m just no longer interested. (I’m very fickle.)
Or sometimes the post idea just doesn’t even make sense anymore. Case in point, one of the draft titles I found the other day was: “Do You Read Books From an Alternate POV?”
Now, that post idea seemed apropos when I wrote it—in 2015!!! Back then, there was a big trend where authors would write a book and then rewrite the same story from another character’s POV (for the record, I wasn’t a fan and could rarely bring myself to read them because I’d get bored). But, now five years later, that post idea is pretty much defunct because that was a quickly passing trend. (I guess I wasn’t the only one who wasn’t interested. Or are there still authors out there that do this? Let me know if I’m wrong!) That’s a draft that’s going in the trash.
I know I’ve deleted others over the years as well. (Why I saved that one for so long, I have no idea—maybe I thought the trend was sure to come back one day?) My poor little drafts … abandoned.
Luckily, I did still have some interesting stuff in there. I found several tags that I’d saved for myself to do “later”—maybe someday I’ll get to them. And I pretty much always have a draft of a Fun with Spam post going (which I update whenever I run across funny spam).
But then there was this gem of a post idea: “Book-Related Anxiety. It’s a Thing (and I Have It).” Imagine my surprise when I saw that I had already written at least half a post! And it gelled perfectly with some of my current writing anxieties, so I decided to flesh it out and post it. Inspiration achieved!!
Guess those drafts can be useful after all!
Do you ever save post ideas as drafts? Do you come back to them or do they end up in the trash? I wanna know!
This post has been linked up to the 2020 Book Blog Discussion Challenge!
Yep, I do this! Right now my only drafts are two unfinished reviews from last year. I should probably delete them because I’m not going to finish them. I’ve mostly given up on writing reviews because they take forever, and I can’t figure out how to make people click on them.
For me, the equivalent of that is letting a book sit in my “Reviews Coming Soon” section for months. I eventually quietly remove it and hope no one notices! 🙂
Guilty! I just checked and I currently have nine posts currently in my draft folder. Dating all the way to 2015. LOL I seem to get inspired or have an idea… and then never ever revisit it. 🙂
Hahaha! So I’m not the only one with drafts from 2015. Glad to hear it.
I do the same thing! So many draft topic ideas, so few of them actually go back to and create posts.
I’ve given up on a lot of them, but you never know when you might need a little inspiration!
In case you had ANY doubt left that our great minds do indeed think alike… https://itstartsatmidnight.com/2017/02/discussions-from-the-trash/ ?
To answer your question, I’ll put it this way: I have 23 drafts. Three are actual upcoming posts (my March recap, The Deep blog tour, and a Reviews in a Minute that needed to be up like, yesterday). About 10 are The 100 posts that were posted on other people’s blogs that I want to have on my own so they make sense. And then 10 are… nonsense. Old tags, discussions that make no sense, an end of year recap from 2019 that I’m pretty sure the ship has sailed on… sooo yeah my drafts are all bound to be deleted eventually ?
I am not at all surprised. 🙂
i keep a small notebook for ideas, but i also use drafts and find i do the same thing. but, at least, they are there to keep reminding me…before i delete them…most of the time
Yeah, you never know when one of them might stick!
I don’t save them as drafts, though I probably should start doing that. However, I have a Google Doc with reviews, posts, links to tags I want to do, and just general ideas. So I guess it’s sort of the same thing, except having it as a draft might make them easier to finish and post. LOL
-Lauren
A Google doc would definitely work too. As long as you know where they are; that’s the important thing.
I think I’m about 50/50 on finishing draft ideas. Some I have to throw out because they only fit a certain season or day and I’ll just not get it done in time.
50/50 seems like a pretty good record to me.
Oh yeah, you’re not alone. I definitely have more than a few drafts sitting there waiting for me to decide whether to finish them or get rid of them.
I just forget to go back and look at them!
I have yet to draft many unused posts, but I do jot down ideas, when inspiration strikes. I am more a reader, than a writer. I mean, I love having an outlet to share my thoughts, but writing is actually hard for me, so maybe that’s why I don’t have tons of posts waiting to be buffed and readied for publication. That’s great, that you found some good half-written posts just waiting to see the light of day
But I’m so impressed with the fact that you come up with a discussion post like every week! I don’t think you give yourself enough credit!
I often save ideas as a draft. Sometimes, I start drafting a post with the intention of publishing it that week, then forget about it as life happens. As time passes, however, I forget to return to my drafts. I need to see what I have squirreled away. Last time I checked, I had maybe 40 drafts saved.
40 drafts! Yes, you must check. It could be a goldmine!
Oooh! I do this all the time! I have an email draft where I add post titles whenever inspiration hits. Of course, I rarely use these prompts or delete them if I no longer think they’re doable, so I’m not sure what purpose that list serves. I also sometimes start drafts of posts on the Google Doc that Chana and I use, and there are so many there with a line or a paragraph that I wrote months ago, but they remain unfinished. Since I’m just as much as a mood-writer as I am a mood-reader, I think I keep waiting for the time to be right to finish these posts. Hopefully inspiration will strike soon, and I’ll finally finish up these ideas I came up with long ago!
Yes, that’s a great way to define it—I’m a mood writer! It’s a real problem!
I only have a few drafts, but I’m so going to start saving my ideas as drafts. That’s so smart! I recently needed a quick post because we’re knee-deep into renovations and I haven’t had time to do much blogging, so I checked my drafts and found an almost complete post I’d made last year. That was a nice surprise! 🙂
Saving as a draft is definitely a great way to save ideas. Just be better than I am at checking them! (Glad you found that almost-finished post right when you needed it!!)
I actually prewrite a lot of my posts, or at least pre-photo them, so I have the photographs and the ideas but haven’t written the actual text. For all posts, I usually the content in the end! The only exception is discussion posts. I always feel disappointed in my discussion posts and end up deleting them? Which is why my blog has a huge lack of discussions :/ I have some on my channel, but I’m not sure. Often I find them not intellectual or useful enough for anyone so I don’t know :/ They’re gone ahaha.
Your photos are always so awesome—I’m not surprised that you use them for inspiration!
I jot post ideas down but I don’t draft anything. That’s as good as a dead zone for me lol I will either never look at it again or get overwhelmed by so many unfinished things.
I’m a big pantser though when it comes to blogging.
Karen @ For What It’s Worth
Oh, I’m a pantser too—people talk about scheduling posts and I just laugh and laugh! 🙂
[…] Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction discusses all those deleted drafts. […]
I make liberal use of draft posts. I draft placeholders for memes I want to take part in, I create placeholders for reviews, tours, blitzes etc (and by entering a scheduled date, I know when they need written by). I also use them for “other” post ideas such as discussions or something completely off the bookish topic. Some of these “other” drafts never see the light of day but the placeholder post drafts almost always do. 🙂
Drafts can be very useful!
I definitely have quite a few old drafts that I’ve never finished lying around! I often have the same problem though that a lot of them are out of date in terms of being about old trends and things but some of them I could probably use. I’ll have to go back over them! 🙂
Who knows what gems you’ve been hiding in those drafts? 🙂
I had to delete some drafts recently as there were just too many! It’s always great when you find little gems tucked away in your drafts and though some may seem outdated, I know some trends do come back so they’re worth holding on to!
Yes, it’s the best when you find a draft that actually works as a great idea for a post!!
[…] first bloom of youth makes for an enjoyable read, too…All those deleted drafts. Let’s discuss. https://feedyourfictionaddiction.com/2020/03/all-those-deleted-drafts-lets-discuss.html For the bloggers – does this chime with your experiences? Thank you for visiting, reading, […]